1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel and improved slam-capable, flush-mountable, paddle handle operated rotary lock that employs a rotary latch assembly of a particularly desirable type connected to rear portions of a pan-shaped housing, with an operating arm that pivots to "unlatch" the latch in response to operation of the handle, with movement of the operating arm preferably being slot-guided at two spaced locations, one being near where the operating arm is engageable with a pawl of the rotary latch, and the other being near where the operating arm may be engaged by a housing-carried, key-operated lock assembly that selectively permits and prevents unlatching movements of the operating arm. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lock of the type described that preferably utilizes a rotary latch assembly that has a single rotary jaw that is releasably retained in its latched position by a rotary pawl, with the latch having spaced first and second housing side plates that sandwich the rotary jaw, the rotary pawl and a torsion spring that biases the jaw toward an open position, with the side plates defining aligned first and second U-shaped notches that cooperate with a third U-shaped notch formed in the rotary jaw for concurrently receiving and latchingly retaining a suitably configured strike formation, with one of the housing side plates being rigidly connected to the pan-shaped housing, with the other of the housing side plates being rigidified in close proximity to its U-shaped notch by an integrally formed flange that extends transversely to bridge between the housing side plates, and with the rotary pawl defining a release trigger which, when tripped by pivotal movement of the operating arm in response to operation of the handle, permits the rotary jaw to be pivoted by the spring to an open position.
2. Prior Art
Flush mountable, paddle handle operated latches and locks are known that employ rotary latch bolts, also referred to as "rotary jaws," wherein the jaws are provided with U-shaped strike-receiving notches for latchingly receiving and releasably retaining suitably configured strike formations. It also is known to utilize a spring-biased operating arm that is pivoted on a back wall of a pan-shaped housing to transfer "unlatching" movement from a rearwardly extending projection of a housing-pivoted paddle handle to a rotary latch assembly that is connected to the pan-shaped housing, as is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,642 issued Mar. 23, 1982 to John V. Pastva, Jr., entitled PADDLE LOCKS WITH HANDLE DISCONNECT FEATURES, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Other disclosures of latch and/or lock units that employ rotary jaws are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,642 issued Mar. 23, 1982 to John V. Pastva, Jr., entitled PADDLE LOCKS WITH HANDLE DISCONNECT FEATURES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,412 issued Apr. 17, 1990 to Jye P. Swan et al, entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK SYSTEM PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED ROTARY LATCHES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,906 issued Jan. 30, 1990 to Lee S. Weinerman et al entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,491 issued Dec. 3, 1991 to Lee S. Weinerman et al entitled VEHICLE DOOR LOCK SYSTEM. The disclosures of these patents also are incorporated herein by reference.
The rotary latch and/or lock units that are disclosed in the four patents identified above are of a relatively heavy duty type that often are employed in "personnel restraint applications," typically on doors of passenger compartments of vehicles. These heavy duty units employ pairs of housing-mounted rotary jaws, with the jaws being sandwiched between pairs of housing side plates, and with notches that are formed in each pair of rotary jaws being configured to receive and engage opposite sides of a suitably configured strike formation, typically a cylindrical stem of a striker pin. While both of the housing side plates are provided with U-shaped notches, neither of these notches defines a strike engagement surface that cooperates with a notched rotary jaw to latchingly receive and releasably retain a strike formation. The notches that are formed in the jaws, not the notches that are formed in the housing side plates, receive, engage and latchingly retain suitably configured strike formations.
Lighter duty rotary latch and lock units that employ single rotary jaws also are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,203 issued Jan. 26, 1982 to Edwin W. Davis entitled FLUSH-MOUNTABLE LOCK WITH ACTUATOR DISCONNECT FEATURE discloses 1) the use of a single rotary latch jaw that is nested within and supported by portions of the housing of a flush mountable paddle-handle assembly, and 2) the use of a single U-shaped housing-carried notch that cooperates with the U-shaped notch formed in a rotary jaw to receive and latchingly retain a generally cylindrical strike formation. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference.